Subnautica High
by ShizukaRakugaki44
Summary: In an alternate reality, the creatures of Planet 4546B have evolved to be able to take on human-like forms. So following the events of the two games, a descendant of Ryley Robinson named Ryan arrives on the planet (now called Subnautica) to attend a school located in the Aurora shipwreck where humans and Subnauticans are taught to coexist with one another.
1. Data Entry 1: New Arrival

**Because I got into ****_Subnautica _****by watching playthroughs and with the release of ****_Subnautica: Below Zero_****, I thought it would be fun to do a harem-style story in an alternate reality where the ****_Subnautica _****creatures have evolved to be more human-like in appearance. Time-wise, it takes place after the events of both games though it'll borrow more elements from the first game than the second. Now what surprises me is that no one else has done a fanfic like this, despite the increasing amount of artwork out there showing human versions of the ****_Subnautica _****creatures and the popularity of anime series like ****_Monster Musume_****. With that said, my fanfic won't be as raunchy as ****_Monster Musume _****because I plan to tell a good story despite the fan-service.**

Data Entry 1: New Arrival

"_Welcome to Planet 4546B, also known as Subnautica,_" a female robotic voice said as a celestial body appeared on the monitor of a spaceship full of people.

A young teenage boy with tan skin and streaks of blue in his short brown hair then looked at his fellow passengers, who seemed just as anxious as he was.

"_Please fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen,_" the robotic voice continued. "_The _Corona _will be entering Subnautica's atmosphere in just a few minutes._"

Checking to make sure his seatbelt was secure, the boy gulped as he noticed the celestial body was growing bigger on the monitor above his head. Apart from an icy patch in the northern hemisphere and a few scattered islands, the rest of the planet was covered in a deep blue ocean. Then there was a flash of green light that came hurling from the planet toward the monitor. The boy couldn't believe what he was seeing when suddenly the ship rocked violently followed by a fiery explosion that caused him to pass out from the shock of it.

###

When the boy came to, he found himself wearing an orange-and-black dive suit that was skin-tight with matching gloves and foot-shoes. The presence of smoke made him cough uncontrollably as he noticed he was inside a small space with light gray walls a ladder and a glass hatch above him. There was a fire near a box-shaped device mounted against one wall, and an extinguisher nearby. Instinctively, the boy grabbed the extinguisher and used it to put out the fire which was quelled pretty easily. Once this was done, he noticed a smaller box-shaped device with an antennae attached to it.

"A radio," the boy realized and pressed a button on it. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

Just then, his vision went blurry and a face appeared in front of him. It was a woman with light muddy-brown skin and brown-green hair tied into a bun. However, she had two pairs of blue eyes with no pupils and a pair of antennae grew from her head with green glowing bulbs at the end of each one.

"_Are you a human…from the planet Earth?_" The woman asked in a deep yet soothing voice.

"Yes," the boy answered. "My name is Ryan Robinson."

"_Strange…_" the woman remarked. "_You remind me of someone I knew, long ago…_"

"Who?" Ryan asked.

The woman paused, and shook her head. "_Well, it doesn't matter. At least you survived._"

"Survived?" Ryan exclaimed. "What happened?"

"_Do you not know?_" The woman asked.

"No," Ryan answered. "One minute, I'm on the _Corona _colony ship sent by the Alterra Corporation to Subnautica when a green light appeared from the planet's surface. Then there was an explosion, and I woke up in this pod-thingy."

"_Ah, the _Corona _must have deployed the 'Lifepods' before it was destroyed._"

Ryan's eyes widened. "How do you know it was destroyed, and what are you?"

"_I am a Subnautican, who are the native beings of this planet,_" the woman stated. "_My name is Empra Levi, the Headmistress of Subnautica High School's southern branch._"

Unsure of what to say, Ryan shook his head and the vision of the woman went away. Then he looked up at the hatch and saw a blue sky with white clouds rolling overhead. Nervously, he ascended the ladder and opened the hatch. A fresh breeze hit him as he looked around and saw miles of ocean water in just about every direction except for two landmarks. One was an island that was several miles away, while the other was a large spaceship that stuck out of the water.

"I know what that is," Ryan realized. "That's the _Aurora_, the ship that my ancestor Ryley survived the crash of!"

"It also serves as the main building for Subnautica High School."

Surprised by the sound of a young male voice with a mischievous tone to it, Ryan glanced downward and noticed a creature sticking out of the water. Like the woman Empra, it was human-like in appearance with long black hair and yellow eyes that had pupils. Apart from yellow eyebrows and two matching dots on its forehead, its skin was dark gray with orange-yellow protrusions emerging from the head that resembled rabbit ears. Meanwhile, a dark gray membrane stuck out from below its arms down to its hips that was outlined in blue. Then below the water swished a blue-and-orange fish-like tail.

"Who are you?" Ryan said, trying hard not to fall off the Lifepod.

"I'm Rabb Ray," said the black-haired creature in the same mischievous tone Ryan heard before. "I saw your thing crash and decided to check it out for myself. Are you hurt?"

"N-No," Ryan claimed.

Rabb didn't seem convinced. "Why don't you jump in so I can get a closer look at you?"

Ryan hesitated.

"Don't worry, I won't bite," Rabb assured. "I'm one of the more docile Subnauticans that you'll find on this planet. Besides, we're in the Safe Shallows so nothing's going to hurt you anyway."

After some consideration, Ryan jumped into the water.

"See? That wasn't so hard," Rabb smiled and swam in circles around Ryan who tried to keep himself above-water by kicking his feet.

It was then that Ryan noticed Rabb's back had neon-blue polka dots that were the same color as the stripes along the membrane. Once Rabb was done circling Ryan, he touched Ryan's face with a hand that was wet and smooth.

"Heard there was a colony of humans arriving here today," Rabb said, putting his hand down. "Are you one of them?"

Reluctantly, Ryan nodded.

"It's a shame your ship had to blow up," Rabb bluntly said, and quickly noticed Ryan's pained look. "Oh, um, sorry…that's the right word to use in this situation, isn't it?"

A moment of silence passed, and Ryan found himself sinking into the water when Rabb pulled him up.

"Let's get you to the _Aurora,_" Rabb suggested. "Empra Levi will want to see that you're okay, and maybe she can help you find other survivors."

So Ryan agreed to this and swam with Rabb who glided through the water with his membrane wings towards the _Aurora _shipwreck.

To be continued…


	2. Data Entry 2: Hostile Reception

Data Entry 2: Hostile Reception

As Ryan and Rabb got closer to the _Aurora_, a menacing roar echoed through the water.

"What was that?" Ryan said as he surfaced.

"It's okay," Rabb assured. "Just stay perfectly still."

A series of ripples followed as a giant creature swam towards them. But before Ryan got a good look at it, the creature changed into a human-like figure that surfaced. It resembled a teenage girl with long red hair and light tan skin. She had two pairs of green eyes with no pupils and a shark-like tail that was white with red fins along the sides. Her chest, though, was covered by a red strapless top.

"Why are you here, Rabb?" The red-haired girl snapped, revealing sharp teeth in her mouth. "You're supposed to be on suspension for causing too much trouble around the school, remember?"

"I haven't forgotten, Rea Levi," Rabb said, his rabbit ear-like protrusions twitching nervously.

The red-haired girl known as Rea then glared at Ryan. "And who is this?"

"He's one of the human colonists that were meant to come today," Rabb explained. "His name is Ryan Robinson, and he appears to be the only one that survived the explosion of his ship."

"How do I know he's telling the truth?" Rea asked, and swam close to Ryan. Her hands and fingernails were red like her top, which continued up to her elbows until it changed to light tan.

Before Ryan could speak, Rabb stated, "Because Empra Levi spoke to him."

"In his mind?" When Ryan nodded, Rea scowled at Rabb. "I'll deal with you later. As for the human, I'm taking him to Empra for conformation of his story."

Then four red claws emerged from Rea's back and grabbed Ryan. With his body pressed against hers, Rea dived into the water and swam underneath the _Aurora_. Just when Ryan thought he was going to drown, there was a _splash _followed by a _thud _as he got tossed onto a ramp that went into the water up to a sliding door.

"That's for nearly passing out in my cleavage," Rea grumbled as she walked onto the ramp with feet instead of a tail wearing a red swimsuit bottom. Unlike her top half, her legs were white and red skin-wise while the feet were red like her hands.

"Well, I didn't have a rebreather on so I couldn't breathe!" Ryan said in an exasperated tone.

Gritting her teeth, Reap picked up Ryan by the collar of his dive suit with one hand. "Don't go blaming me for it! I know you just survived your ship getting blown up, but on this planet it's all about survival. So if you don't pull yourself together, you'll end up dead on the sea floor with scavengers feasting on your corpse. Do you understand, human?"

"Y-Yes," Ryan said, lowering his eyes.

Rea then let Ryan go, causing him to fall onto the ramp. "By the way, I'm at the top of the Food Chain around here, so you'd do best to stay out of my way."

While Rea walked up the ramp, Ryan got to his feet and scratched his head in confusion. "Food Chain? What does she mean by that?"

At the top of the ramp, Ryan went through the sliding door which led into a locker-room which looked surprisingly new along with the rest of the ship despite its stranded condition. Then Rea emerged from one of the changing rooms wearing a tan sweater with white stripes along the cuffs over a blue undershirt, a thigh-high blue skirt, and black pantyhose with blue shoes. Next, she grabbed Ryan by the wrist and took him through another sliding door into a hallway full of other human-like creatures and a few regular humans as well.

"The crew members of Alterra's _Sunspot _ship, who helped prepare this planet for colonization a few years ago, had their kids attend this school as 'guinea pigs' for this school's co-species program," Rea said when she noticed Ryan staring at the other humans. "Now what do guinea pigs have to do with humans volunteering to attend this school before the colonists do? I read that they're small furry creatures from Earth."

"It's an expression," Ryan answered, though Rea gave him a confused look. "Something that's said to describe something else. In this instance, 'guinea pigs' is used to describe a person or creature that's testing something out for the first time."

"Why?" Asked Rea.

"Because guinea pigs and other similar creatures are often used to test things," Ryan answered.

Rea scuffed. "You humans are weird."

Several sliding doors and hallways later, Rea brought Ryan into a large office space with an aquarium-like tank inside it. There, Empra was swimming around wearing a black wavy swimsuit top that barely covered her enormous breasts while several brown tentacles replaced her lower half. Once she noticed Ryan and Rea, though, she blushed and surfaced at the top of the tank near a ladder.

"Pardon me," Empra muttered, using her paddle-like arms to crawl out. "I knew you were coming here, but I decided to get my afternoon swim out of the way first."

"It's no problem, Empra," Rea insisted. "Hydration is important for our kind."

After her tentacles changed into human legs, Empra walked down the ladder and over to a changing area while Ryan noticed she wore a black swimsuit skirt over a matching swimsuit bottom. Then Empra emerged a few minutes later wearing a brown blazer over a dress shirt with her breasts partially sticking out, a matching knee-length brown skirt and black heels.

"Good to see you're in one piece, Ryan," Empra said. "And it seems you became acquainted with Rea Levi, our school monitor."

"Only because he came here with Rabb Ray, who found him in the first place," Rea corrected.

"In the Lifepod?" As Ryan nodded, Empra smiled. "Well, I suppose that's good enough to take Rabb out of suspension."

"Are you serious?" Rea blinked. "Have you forgotten what he did? He peeped into the girls' changing rooms and started that food fight in the living quarters!"

"I know what he did, Rea," Empra responded. "But Rabb's thoughtfulness in bringing Ryan here is commendable, given the present circumstances."

"What are you saying?" Ryan asked.

Sighing, Empra stated, "The _Sunspot _crew haven't been able to locate any transmissions from the other Lifepods that were ejected when the _Corona _exploded, and I can't sense their presences either meaning that they're probably dead."

To be continued…


	3. Data Entry 3: The Food Chain

Data Entry 3: The Food Chain

As Ryan let Empra's words sink in, he was escorted by Rea to the living quarters part of the _Aurora_. Here, there were individual cabins a lounge and a dining area.

"School starts at 0800 hours," Rea stated. "Don't be late."

Then Rea left, causing Ryan to look around the empty lounge he was in. He then located the cabin Empra had assigned him and punched in a code on the keypad next to the door to open it. Inside, the room was bare with a metallic bed covered white and gray sheets a desk with an office chair and a dresser. There was even a closet where Ryan decided to hang his dive suit after taking it off. After drying himself off with a white towel he found in the dresser, he heard a _knock _on his door.

"_I've come with a fresh set of clothes,_" said a voice that sounded familiar.

Surprised by this, Ryan wrapped the towel around his waist and opened his door seeing Rabb standing opposite of him wearing an oversized blue T-shirt and baggy black pants. While the gray membrane was gone from his arms, black sweatbands covered his wrists.

"Empra told me to come back here after Rea took you," Rabb explained while holding a small pile of clothes. "She said she'd put me off suspension if I agreed to be your guide at this school for the time-being."

"Well, that's…very thoughtful of her," Ryan responded.

"She also forgot to get you some fresh clothes for your cabin, since she doesn't know your measurements, so I'll let you borrow some of mine until the weekend when we can go to Floating Island."

"Is that the island near here?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, it's where the _Sunspot _crew live," Rabb answered. "It's even got something called a 'shopping center' which has clothing stores cafes and other neat stuff."

"How do you get there?"

"You can either swim there, or ride the Reeback Transportation System."

"The what?"

"Reefbacks are one of the few species on this planet who didn't evolve to be more human-like," Rabb explained. "So they've been utilized to transport people and Subnauticans to different places around the crater."

Ryan blinked. "The crater?"

"This whole area is inside one big crater that was created millions of years ago, causing life to evolve differently than in other places…with the exception of Sector Zero."

"Where is that?"

"Further north. But anyway, get dressed and I'll show you around."

After Ryan took the clothes from Rabb, he shut the cabin door and put the clothes into the dresser. Next, he picked out a thin orange shirt and put a gray T-shirt over that with matching gray skinny jeans and sneakers. Once Ryan stepped out in his new clothes, Rabb grinned at him.

"Not bad," Rabb remarked. "Seems your taste in clothing didn't get damaged when the _Corona _exploded — ah, sorry, too soon?"

Ryan said nothing and followed Rabb out of the living quarters. They visited several classrooms, which used to be laboratories, hallways filled with lockers, the ship's engine room which was filled with water, and the bridge where a couple of technicians from the _Sunspot _greeted them.

"Sorry about what happened to the _Corona_," one technician said, shaking his head. "We saw the whole thing when we went up top to do some maintenance checks."

Ryan's eyes widened. "So you know how the ship exploded?"

"Sure," replied the other technician, who was female. "The canon on Mountain Island suddenly lit up and blasted the _Corona _as it entered Subnautica's atmosphere."

As his brows furrowed, Ryan demanded. "Where is Mountain Island?"

"Maybe we've said too much," the male technician murmured. "You'll have to ask Empra Levi for more details."

Then Rabb dragged Ryan out of the bridge before he could question the technicians further.

###

The next day, Ryan woke up to the sound of the alarm clock in his cabin from the PDA that was salvaged from the Lifepod before the _Sunspot _crew took it away. After getting washed and dressed in the cabin's adjoining bathroom, he went into the lounge and found several students heading toward the dining area so he followed behind them. Here, all the human-like creatures occupied several metallic tables while the regular humans sat at one table. While one of the humans waved at Ryan, he felt someone bump into him. He turned around and saw a short girl with big yellow eyes that had black pupils in them. She wore a dark hoodie with a bluish hue while strands of black hair stuck out, matching black pants and shoes that had a greenish hue. She blinked her eyes once and then quickly walked away.

"That's Peeps Fish," Rabb said, appearing next to Ryan. "She's usually pretty shy and tends to avoid others when she can."

"How come?" Ryan asked.

"It's in the nature of her species, being at the bottom of the Food Chain and all," replied Rabb in a blunt tone as he and Ryan went to get food which was provided for them by a cheerful cook from the _Sunspot _crew.

"Okay, but I don't know what you mean by 'Food Chain,'" Ryan said, looking down at his food tray which consisted of a nutrient block bottled water and an assortment of strange fruits and vegetables. "Because on Earth, it's used to describe a cycle where one creature eats another in order to live."

Rabb paused as he and Ryan sat down at a small table along the edge of the dining area, then he said, "Basically, every creature on this planet is put into different categories with varying authority depending on their level of sentience and strength. So while humans and Subnauticans are above non-evolved creatures like the Reefbacks, there is a hierarchy among the Subnauticans. For instance, you have Empra and Rea of the Leviathan Class who are the planet's most powerful predators. Then below that, you've got lesser predators such as the Shark Class and the Crab Class along with the Ray Class, which is what I belong to. Peeps, on the other hand, is part of the Fish Class and they're the weakest of all the Classes."

"So it's like a Caste System, then," Ryan realized.

"What's that?" Rabb asked.

Before Ryan could answer, a soft electronic bell echoed through the dining area causing students to get up and place their food trays in a waste chute. So Rabb and Ray followed their example and went into the hallway near the living quarters to get to their first class of the day.

To be continued…


	4. Data Entry 4: Stalkers

**Sorry for the super long delay. Was busy writing other fanfics and caught up in personal matters, but I'm surprised at how quickly this fanfic became popular despite having only three chapters. So to those who are hyped for the next chapter, I apologize in advance if it doesn't meet your expectations. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this next installment :)**

Data Entry 4: Stalkers

To Ryan's surprise, all the teachers at Subnautica High School were crew members from the _Sunspot _with the Homeroom teacher being Ava Quinn who was descended from Captain Avery Quinn of the _Sunbeam _ship which exploded above Subnautica a long time ago. But unlike the _Aurora_, no one survived except for the crews' relatives who didn't go to Subnautica initially.

"Now, given what Ryan Robinson has been through I want you all to be nice and support him in whatever way you can," Ava said to Homeroom after Ryan introduced himself.

One boy raised his hand from the back. He had a Mohawk of purple hair with pale skin that had purple streaks that were visible along the sides of his cheeks, yellow shark-like eyes, and visible fangs sticking out of his mouth. His clothes consisted of a gray-blue hoodie and dark-blue jeans with aqua-colored sneakers that had green laces.

"Yes, Stalk Barracuda?" Ava asked.

"How did he survive?" The purple-haired boy asked.

"I was ejected from the _Corona _in a Lifepod," Ryan answered.

"By who?" Stalk continued.

"I'm…not sure," Ryan responded nervously. "I passed out when the explosion happened and woke up in the Lifepod after it landed here."

"What caused the explosion?"

"A green—

"That's enough questions for today," Ava interrupted. "It's time we did some schoolwork."

So Ryan took a seat near a window that showed the Safe Shallows outside and glanced back at Stalk who was staring at him. Then as time passed, Ryan noticed Stalk was still staring and felt uneasy. Once Homeroom ended Ryan left the classroom in a hurry and went to his locker. But just before he could open it, a pale hand with purple fingernails slammed against his hand.

"Thought you could run away from me, human?"

Ryan turned around and saw Stalk standing right behind him. His fangs were more visible and very sharp-looking.

"Tell me what made the ship explode," Stalk demanded.

"Why do you want to know?" Ryan asked.

"Because the human teachers haven't said anything about it, and Empra Levi hasn't given too many details either," Stalk said. "So I think they're hiding something, and you might be able to fill in the blanks for me."

Sighing, Ryan said, "All I saw was a green light heading from the planet when the _Corona _was entering Subnautica's atmosphere. There was an explosion, I passed out, woke up in a Lifepod, and was brought here by Rabb Ray."

Stalk frowned. "Those weren't the answers I was hoping for."

"What did you expect me to say?"

"Like where did the green light come from, and why it targeted your ship?"

"I don't know, but I did hear something about a canon—

Ryan stopped himself, but Stalk's eyes widened as he gripped Ryan's hand more tightly. "Where did you hear this from?"

"The technicians…in the bridge," Ryan answered reluctantly.

"What did they say?"

"That a canon fired from Mountain Island, and took down the _Corona_."

Stalk looked astray. "They must be talking about—

"Hands off, Stalk!" Shouted a female voice, just as Stalk was forcefully pushed away.

Ryan looked to his right and saw a short girl about Ryan's age standing there with her fists clenched in a shoving position. She had short black hair that had purple streaks in it, tan skin, and a stoic-looking face with coal-gray eyes. Her clothes consisted of a purple sporty shirt, black fingerless gloves, tight black pants and sneakers.

"Are you okay?" The short-haired girl asked Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan answered.

Unconvinced, the short-haired girl glared at Stalk. "Were you trying to eat him?"

"No way," Stalk insisted. "Besides, he doesn't smell good."

Then Stalk briskly walked away just as the warning bell rang for the next class.

"I should probably escort you, just in case Stalk comes back," the short-haired girl said as she grabbed Ryan's arm. "What class do you have next?"

"Um, Swimming 101," Ryan said, looking at his schedule which was on his PDA.

"Oh, that's where I'm heading too," the short-haired girl said and dragged Ryan down the hallway of the ship.

###

As it turned out, the Swimming class was held in the sunken part of the _Aurora _where Rea had brought Ryan to the other day. This time, Empra was there with her lower-half partially submerged in the water. On the ramp stood a group of human students with Ryan and the short-haired girl among them. While Empra wore the same black bathing-suit from before, the human students wore orange-and-black dive suits that were similar to the one Ryan had.

"I sense everyone who is supposed to be here is present," Empra smiled. "Now I assume most of you were taught the basics of swimming as children, correct?"

Reluctantly, everyone nodded including Ryan and the girl.

"Okay," Empra said as she looked at every student with her eyes finally settling on Ryan. "I know most of you who grew up on Floating Island are familiar with Subnautica's waters, but our new arrival Ryan Robinson is not. So he will be taking remedial swimming courses with my teaching assistant Marie Ozman, while the rest of us will continue our lessons as normal."

So Empra dived underwater while the other human students followed her after putting on rebreathers except for Ryan and the short-haired girl.

"Guess I shouldn't have handled you so roughly earlier, if I knew who you were," the short-haired girl said, whom Ryan guessed was Marie. "It's just that Stalk is particularly aggressive, being part of the Subnautican Shark Class and all."

"You're aware of the Food Chain too?" Ryan said, but realized how moronic that sounded.

"Of course," Marie responded. "Everyone here knows about it, though I think it's stupid."

This caught Ryan off-guard. "How come?"

"Because to me, all Subnauticans are no different from animals on the inside no matter how human they look on the outside," stated Marie.

Once they had their rebreathers on, Marie grabbed Ryan around the waist and together they dove into the water.

To be continued…


	5. Data Entry 5: Night Swim (Part 1)

Data Entry 5: Night Swim to Mountain Island (Part 1)

While Marie was demonstrating several basic swimming techniques, Ryan noticed many animals were lurking in the Safe Shallows including fish, rays, and even ones that looked like manatees.

"_So, Marie,_" Ryan said through his rebreather. "_Are all of these creatures Subnauticans?_"

"_Of course, since they're native to Subnautica,_" Marie answered.

This made Ryan blink in confusion. "_But they don't look like the ones attending the school._"

"_That's because Subnauticans have a human form and a primordial form,_" Marie explained. "_While some choose to look human, others don't. Nevertheless, humans aren't allowed to hunt trap and/or kill Subnauticans unless they've committed a crime or it's in self-defense._"

"_Do the same rules apply to Subnauticans themselves?_" Ryan asked.

Marie sighed. "_That's where things get complicated. Before humans showed up, the Food Chain system allowed Subnauticans to do whatever they wanted depending on what class they were in. So as you might imagine, the Leviathan Class had the most authority whereas those in the Fish Class had no power whatsoever._"

"_Then Subnauticans…ate each other?_" Ryan winced at the thought.

"_In a matter of speaking, though not all Subnauticans are the same species,_" replied Marie. "_But as soon as we showed up, the Subnauticans have been trying to keep their natural urges to a minimum. Hence, the meals at Subnautica High School are catered to satisfy the carnivores and herbivores with a mixture of protein blocks and vegetables. On top of that, the predatory Subnauticans are not allowed to harm consume and/or kill humans._"

"_Unless the human has committed a crime, or the Subnautican is defending themselves?_" Ryan guessed.

"_I think there's a clause like that, but neither of those things has happened since Empra is able to telepathically keep most Subnauticans under control._" When Ryan gave Marie an odd look, she elaborated, "_Not like…brainwashing, so much as keeping them relatively calm._"

###

After a full day of school, Ryan was just about to turn in for the night in his room when Stalk suddenly approached him.

"Hey, sorry about the way I threatened you earlier," Stalk apologized, though he didn't sound sincere. "So to make up for it, I can take you to Mountain Island where the canon that shot down the _Corona _is."

Ryan hesitated. "Is it the same canon that shot down the _Sunbeam_?"

"Yes, and if you don't trust me you can look in the school's data entries. But I doubt you won't find much, since I already checked."

Then Stalk walked away as Ryan immediately looked at his PDA. He found an entry on Mountain Island, but there was no description of a canon which he thought was odd because of the stories his father told him about his ancestor Ryley deactivating the canon after it destroyed the _Sunbeam_. But when Ryan looked into those files, the word 'canon' was replaced with 'mysterious object.' So he followed Stalk to the section of the living quarters that was reserved exclusively for Subnauticans, which not only included a giant swimming pool but also several underwater tubes connecting to individual rooms that resembled aquarium tanks. Fortunately, Stalk was still in human form and he agreed to take Ryan out to Mountain Island that night so long as a friend of his accompanied them. Known as San Shark, this guy also had a Mohawk but this one was black with red highlights. With dark skin and two pairs of orange eyes with black irises, San's clothes consisted of a gray-purple jacket and matching pants with black boots. As he smirked, his teeth were revealed to be just as sharp as Stalk's which made Ryan nervous.

"Don't worry, human," Stalk assured. "San will behave himself so long as he's with me."

"Okay, but I do have a name," Ryan reminded Stalk. "Were you not paying attention when Mrs. Quinn introduced me?"

"I was, but I don't bother to remember human names," Stalk replied. "Unless they interest me."

###

Outside of the _Aurora_, Ryan swam northward with Stalk and San on either side of him. While their upper-parts were still human and bare-chested, their lower-halves had been transformed into fishtails. But each one was different with Stalk's being light-blue and fin-like while San's tail was segmented with a pink underside that had leg-like appendages. Passing through a kelp forest, they came upon an area of open water where several shadows appeared on the sea floor. Ryan looked up in surprise and saw several large jellyfish-like creatures swimming above with coral and grass growing off their surfaces.

"Judging by your look, human, I take it you've never seen a Reefback before," Stalk grimaced while San did the same.

"_Yeah, but I've heard about them,_" Ryan said as he tried to control his excited breathing. "_They remind me of Humpback Whales._"

"Oh, you mean those giant sea creatures on Earth that eat tiny creatures called krill?" Stalk guessed. When Ryan nodded, Stalk continued, "I've also heard that sharks will feast on whales when they die."

Unsure of what to say, Ryan continued to follow Stalk while San trailed behind him. They eventually reached Mountain Island, with its underside floating instead of going all the way down to the ocean floor. While Ryan was amazed by this, Stalk forcefully dragged him around the island when suddenly a strange creature appeared right in front of them. Like Stalk and San, its upper-half resembled a human only it was a teenage girl with pale-blue skin two sets of pupil-less magenta eyes and long purple hair trailing behind her. She also wore a magenta cloak that covered her whole body except for her spiked arms and legs which were tentacle-like.

After a pause, the female creature frowned as a glowing orb appeared between her arms. This glowing orb turned into a flash of light, which blinded Ryan Stalk and San momentarily. When they were able to see again, they were now further away from the island. But just as they were getting their bearings, a chilling roar echoed through the water behind them.

To be continued…


	6. Data Entry 6: Night Swim (Part 2)

Data Entry 6: Night Swim to Mountain Island (Part 2)

As the distant roar died down, Ryan noticed that the Reefbacks he saw earlier were now gone.

"It's Rea Levi," Stalk abruptly said, looking afraid. "She must have caught the human's scent."

"Let's get out of here," San concurred, speaking for the first time since Ryan decided to come with him and Stalk on this night.

Then in an instant, San dove into the sand on the ocean floor while Stalk swam towards the nearby Kelp Forest. As Ryan tried to figure out what to do, a large creature became partially visible to his left. It was red and serpent-like with four green eyes that had no pupils and claw-like appendages around its face. Revealing sharp teeth, the creature roared again causing Ryan to instinctively swim away wishing he had brought a Survival Knife or any kind of weapon.

Unfortunately, there was no cover in the open water and Ryan's feet were increasingly growing tired from the amount of swimming he was doing. Then in a heart-stopping moment, the claw-like appendages sprang up from behind and pulled him back. Just when Ryan thought he was going to be eaten by the creature, he was instead greeted by Rea's angry frown.

"What are you _doing_ out here?" Rea demanded, her sharp teeth only inches from Ryan's face while her pupil-less green eyes glared at him. "It's against the rules to go swimming out in the open water without permission, and especially at night."

"_I came out here with Stalk, and San,_" Ryan explained, though his heart was pounding heavily against his chest. "_They wanted to show me the canon on Mountain Island._"

Rea didn't seem convinced. "And where are they now?"

Just then, something emerged from the sand and tackled Rea. It had the face of a shark, but its body resembled a cockroach with tiny leg-like appendages that pinned Rea down as she kept its jaw full of teeth from chomping her face off. Meanwhile, Ryan was attacked by a barracuda-like creature with a snapping jaw and purple ridges along its light-blue body. Then Ryan noticed a rock nearby and picked it up from the ocean floor. He threw it at the barracuda-like creature, causing several of its sharp teeth to fall out.

"Get out of here, human," Rea insisted as the red claws sticking out from her back encapsulated the shark-like creature's body. "My other form will take care of these Shark Class fiends!"

Without questioning Rea, Ryan decided to swim to the surface but made sure to not go up too quickly so he wouldn't get decompression sickness. From there, he made his way towards the _Aurora _by way of the Kelp Forest and the Safe Shallows. To his surprise, Rea was already near the flooded entrance though neither Stalk nor San were with her.

"If you're going to assume I ate San and Stalk, then you're wrong," Rea said before Ryan opened his mouth. "I knocked them out and handed them to Empra Levi to deal with. Still, I'm surprised you came back to the _Aurora _instead of swimming to somewhere else. Because if you did, I would've hunted you down to the very edges of the crater."

Ryan immediately thought back to the giant creature that he now realized was Rea and didn't say anything in response.

"I suppose you think I'm a monster, now that you've seen my true form," Rea guessed, looking away from Ryan. "Not that I care much for this human form either."

Then Rea swam away, leaving Ryan dumbfounded before he entered the _Aurora_.

###

The next morning, Ryan told Rabb about what happened the previous night who was immediately intrigued by every detail. Ryan also noticed Marie starring at him from the human-occupied table in the dining area, and she seemed somewhat baffled.

"So I take it you've become acquainted with Marie Ozman," Rabb figured, noticing Ryan's gaze.

"Yeah, she saved me from Stalk who was harassing me earlier yesterday and is my Swimming 101 tutor," Ryan answered.

"Did she try to convince you that us Subnauticans are nothing more than savage animals?"

Surprised, Ryan flinched. "Why do assume that?"

"Ever since she came here with the _Sunspot _crew as a kid, she's done nothing but spout that kind of stuff to humans and Subnauticans alike," Rabb explained. "She even created a group at this school called the Human Protection Club, and its members hang out at that table."

Looking back at the human-occupied table, Ryan noticed that while Marie wasn't starring at him anymore some of the other human students were giving him judgmental looks.

"But isn't that all the human students at this school?" Ryan said as he looked away from the human-occupied table.

"Pretty much, so it's highly unusual for you to be sitting with me right now," Rabb pointed out. "Now what was that Caste System thing you mentioned yesterday?"

Just as Ryan was about to answer, Rea suddenly walked over to him and Rabb wearing the same tan sweater and blue skirt she wore yesterday. She didn't look too happy, which made both Ryan and Rabb nervous.

"Turns out you were right, human," Rea said to Ryan, clenching her tray in an angry manner which had one protein block and a bottle of water on it. "Stalk and San did lure you out to Mountain Island, which Empra Levi found out by reading their minds. For that, they have been expelled and you're scheduled to meet Empra after Homeroom."

"Um, thanks for letting me know," Ryan responded. "And I appreciate you saving me from Stalk and San last night."

For a moment, Rea's tan skin turned slightly red as she walked away. "Whatever, Ryan…"

"She just called you by your first name," Rabb blinked. "Rea Levi's never addressed anyone like that other than Empra Levi. I guess you must've impressed her."

Immediately, Ryan thought back to when he hit Stalk with the rock and figured that was probably the reason. Then the bell rang forcing him and Rabb to get up along with everyone else. On the way to Homeroom, Peeps approached Ryan though she kept her head down. Instead of speaking, she passed a note to him and quickly walked away. So naturally Ryan looked down at the note which said:

_You are first human who stand up to Rea Levi, and like you for it. _

_Meet me in library later._

_ — __Peeps Fish_

To be continued…


	7. Data Entry 7: Top to Bottom

Data Entry 7: Top to Bottom

In Empra Levi's office after school, Ryan found her swimming in the giant tank once more with her tentacle-like legs before she noticed him.

"Ah, Ryan," Empra smiled as she swam to the top of the tank and looked down at him. As a result, her enormous breasts hung down despite being held together by her black swimsuit top.

"H-Hello, Empra Levi," Ryan said, trying not to stare at Empra's breasts.

"There's no need to be formal with me," Empra chuckled. "Just call me Empra."

"Okay, but why do the Subnauticans say your full name and not the human students?"

"Because I am at the top of the Food Chain, which makes me their leader," Empra responded. "Now since I consider myself an equal to the humans, I do not require them to treat me as something higher than them."

"But why?" Ryan asked. "You can read minds and control entire species according to Marie."

"True, but it wouldn't look good to the Alterra Cooperation if I showed superiority over the humans who volunteered to be on this planet. It might lead to hostility on the humans' part, and then chaos."

"What about Marie's Human Protection Club? And her open judgements about Subnauticans? Aren't those signs of hostility?"

Instead of answering, Empra decided to change the subject. "I got the impression from Stalk and San that you wanted to go to Mountain Island in order to find the canon that allegedly shot down the _Corona_."

"So it is real?"

Reluctantly, Empra nodded. "It was the same one that was used to shoot down the _Sunbeam _a long time ago, when the planet was affected by the Kharaa Virus. Luckily, my Sea Emperor siblings and I were able to cure it with the enzymes we naturally produce after our mother died protecting us. Though if it hadn't been for your ancestor's help, Ryan, we would never have been born."

Ryan looked remorseful. "My parents told me that story, before they perished with the _Corona_. I'm guessing one of them placed me in that Lifepod."

"That remains a mystery for now, as the _Corona_ ship's fragments haven't been found yet nor salvaged for materials such as audio and video logs. But the reason I told you about the canon is because I knew it would be a matter of time before you asked me since I erased all mentions of the canon from the PDAs."

"Okay, though I don't understand why you're telling me and censoring it for everyone else."

"Since you are descended from the man who saved this planet, I see no reason to keep secrets from you. But I fear for everyone else's safety, and thus resorted to censorship. In exchange for the information, you must promise me to never go near the canon again."

"Is it because the canon's active, or that strange girl I encountered near it?"

"Strange girl?" Empra seemed confused and then her eyes widened. "Oh, you mean the Warper."

"The Warper?"

"Warpers were artificial creatures made by the Precursors who used them to protect their research facilities and attack any creature infected with the Kharaa Virus. While the Warpers did linger on after the virus was cured, they almost died out since they lacked reproductive organs and the Precursor factories that built them were no longer working. But as we Subnauticans grew smarter, we figured out how to start the factories up again and redesign the Warpers with reproductive organs thus allowing them to become their own species. Still, their primary function is to protect the Sea Emperors and prevent another outbreak."

"That still doesn't explain why that girl — I mean, Warper, was out by Mountain Island."

"She was protecting a portal near the canon that leads to my home, which is the research facility that my mother was raised in. That's why I don't want you to go near the canon, because I like my privacy."

"Oh, I see." Ryan nodded politely. "Then I promise to not go near the canon."

"Very good," Empra said approvingly. "You may go now."

After Ryan left, he made his way to the library where he saw Peeps Fish standing near the digital catalogue amidst shelves of PDAs.

"Hey, Peeps," Ryan greeted, which caused the black-haired girl with the giant yellow eyes to flinch nervously. "Did I startle you?"

"Yes," Peeps muttered. "But don't take offense. Everything startles me."

"I'm not offended," Ryan claimed. "So…what did you want to see me for?"

"To show appreciation for you not being afraid of Rea Levi," Peeps said nervously. "Unlike Marie, you seem like nice person."

"Um, thanks, but why is it good that I'm not afraid of Rea? If anything, she seemed cross with me earlier."

Peeps blinked. "Cross? Like the symbol?"

"No, I meant angry," Ryan clarified.

"Right, I'm not very good at English."

"You're doing fine, though."

"Really?" Peeps looked down in embarrassment. "No one has ever said that to me before."

"How come?"

"Being the lowest in the Food Chain, Fish Class members like me are usually ignored. Carnivores would eat us and the herbivores would tolerate us. Though since the humans showed up, we haven't been eaten but we are constantly bullied by the carnivores."

"This doesn't seem right. Have you talked to Empra about this?"

"No, because I'm afraid of her."

"You don't have to be. She expelled a Shark Class guy who bullied me the other day, so I'm sure she'll listen to you and not threaten you in any way."

This made Peeps look up at Ryan. "Will you come with me to see her tomorrow? I would feel safer being with you."

"Sure."

###

The next morning, Ryan was accompanying Peeps to Empra's office when several human students blocked him led by a tall teenage boy with blond hair and blue eyes.

"Seems you really are a fish lover, if you're taking pity on creatures like her," the blond-haired boy said as he gave Peeps a judgmental look. "Now those of us in the Human Protection Club are concerned about this kind of behavior and would like to straighten you out."

Suddenly, the other two human students moved around to both of Ryan's sides thus surrounding him and Peeps.

To be continued…


	8. Data Entry 8: In Need of Healing

Data Entry 8: In Need of Healing

While Ryan was pummeled by the blond-haired boy and the two other human students, Peeps gasped and turned into a small black fish with big yellow eyes. Upon falling onto the floor, though, the fish that was Peeps flopped around gasping for air. Just then, Marie showed up along with a girl that had sand-blonde hair and hazel eyes who wore a white blouse and tan skirt.

"Aiden!" Marie snapped, catching the blond-haired boy's attention.

Releasing his grip on Ryan's orange shirt, the blond-haired boy who was called Aiden looked astray. "Uh, we—

"Peeps!" The girl with the sand-blonde hair exclaimed as she looked down at Peeps the fish. "She needs water!"

Quickly, the girl with the sand-blonde hair picked up Peeps and rushed off with her which prompted Ryan to follow. Down several corridors, Ryan followed the girl into a large white room filled with various equipment along with a combination of beds and water-filled tanks. The girl with the sand-blonde hair took Peeps to one of the tanks and plopped her inside.

"Whew! Thank goodness," The girl with the sand-blonde hair sighed as Peeps swam around the tank. "You're safe now."

Then as the girl turned around, she saw Ryan and gasped in surprise.

"You startled me," the girl said after catching her breath. "You're Ryan Robinson, right?"

"Yeah," Ryan responded, trying to hide his guilt for startling the girl.

Noticing Ryan's expression, the girl smiled and held her hand out. "I'm Alice Quinn. We have the same Homeroom and Swimming classes."

"Oh, right," Ryan realized as he shook Alice's hand. "Your mother is Ava, the Homeroom teacher, and she's descended from Avery Quinn who was the captain of the _Sunbeam_."

"Yep, along with my brother Aiden," Alice admitted reluctantly.

Ryan's eyes widened. "The guy that _just_ beat me up was your brother?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Alice nodded and then looked at Ryan's face again. "Looks like you got a few bruises."

Heading to a nearby fridge, Alice pulled out some small ice packs and pressed them against Ryan's face. He initially flinched but quickly relaxed.

"I'm sorry Aiden did this," Alice apologized. "You're the only other human student at this school besides me and my mother who have sympathy toward the Subnauticans."

"Seems like it," Ryan noted. "Though I'm surprised Marie intervened, since your brother and those other guys were part of her Human Protection Club."

"She may not like Subnauticans, but she won't resort to hurting other humans who don't agree with her club's beliefs," Alice stated. "Aiden, on the other hand, doesn't feel the same way. He lashes out at anyone who disagrees with him, whether they're Subnautican or human."

"That's awful," Ryan remarked. "Has your mother tried to reason with him, or at least sought out a therapist?"

"My mother has tried reasoning with Aiden for years, but to no avail," replied Alice. "And he refuses to see any kind of therapist."

Unsure of what to say, Ryan looked around the room. "So is this the _Aurora_'s Laboratory?"

In response, Alice nodded. "That's what it used to be, before being converted into a medical facility for any Subnautican or human that needs healing."

"Okay, so is there a doctor or nurse in here?"

"Not really," replied Alice. "This place is mainly run by robots, though they're currently having their weekly maintenance checkup in the Engineering room. But even when they're not here, we have access to all the medical equipment and machines that are used to treat injuries."

"I see. What about therapists?"

"The only one we have is Mesmera Fish, who's the only exceptional Subnautican staff member at this school besides Empra Levi."

Just then, the bell rang to indicate the first period which forced Ryan and Alice to leave Peeps behind in the medical facility. Once they got to Homeroom, they explained the situation to Ava who said she would excuse her from class. After that, Ryan waited till Homeroom was over to check on Peeps who was no longer in the medical facility. So Ryan went to Swimming 101 before class started and told Empra what happened.

"Poor little thing," Empra remarked. "I can sense Peeps is still at this school, but she doesn't want to see you for the time being."

"How come?" Ryan asked.

"Your encounter with those Human Protection Club boys scared her, then seeing you and Alice leave made her feel abandoned."

"But we didn't mean to abandon her. We had to get to class on time, and had no choice but to leave. Can you tell me where she is so I can straighten things out?"

Empra paused and said, "She's with Mesmera Fish, I would strongly advise that you don't go to her right now and let her come to you when she feels like it."

So Ryan reluctantly nodded and left with Marie for his private lessons with her in the Safe Shallows. To his surprise, she didn't say much as they were swimming near the Kelp Forest where Stalkers were partially visible.

"_Is something bothering you?_" Ryan said, trying to break the ice. "_If it's about what happened this morning—_

"_It's my fault,_" Marie abruptly said. "_During breakfast, Aiden made some mean remarks about you hanging out with Subnauticans but I didn't think he would go so far as to beat you up. I should have said something._"

"_There's no point in blaming yourself,_" Ryan responded.

"_But you got hurt, and so I feel responsible for Aiden's actions_."

"_Well, don't, because he chose to do what he did and you didn't._"

"_At the very least, I should have him see Mesmera even though he's refused to see her when we're supposed to do that at least once per semester._"

"_Have you seen Mesmera?_"

"_Yeah, though I don't approve of her method of treatment._"

"_What does she do?_"

"_She uses a form of hypnosis, which is typically used by members of her species to lure prey and eat them._"

"_And what kind of prey are we talking about?_"

"_From what I've read, Mesmers will eat anything that looks at them directly. This includes other fish, larger fauna, even their own kind._"

Thinking about what Empra said regarding Peeps' location, Ryan got nervous thinking about Peeps being in the same room as Mesmera and immediately went to the therapy office as soon as Swimming 101 was over.

To be continued…


	9. Data Entry 9: Mesmerizing Gaze

Data Entry 9: Mesmerizing Gaze

Upon entering the therapy office, Ryan was surprised to see not only Peeps but also another Subnautican. Female in appearance, this one had shimmering purple skin and wore a low-cut mint-green summer dress where four bluish-white skin panels emerged from her back that were shaped like butterfly wings. Her hair was bright pink while her eyes were yellow with S-shaped pupils, and yet she had a friendly smile plastered on her face.

"Well, hello," said the female Subnautican. "Can I help you with something?"

"Are you Mesmera Fish?" Ryan asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," the female Subnautican replied coyly. "And you must be Ryan Robinson, the naughty boy whom Peeps has been telling me about."

"What?" Ryan looked at Peeps, who was sitting in a chair across from Mesmera who sat behind a desk.

"She's just been telling me all about you, and how you betrayed her trust by leaving her in that dreadful tank after she nearly died during that encounter with those Human Protection bullies," Mesmera continued as she got up.

"I didn't mean to leave her behind," Ryan explained. "The warning bell for the first period rang, so I had to go."

"But you're here now, even though lunch period will end soon." The skin panels behind Mesmera's back suddenly flared up and began shimmering.

Ryan blinked in confusion, but he ignored it and walked over to Peeps. She was staring ahead though her eyes seemed glazed over.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ryan shook Peeps' shoulder, but she didn't respond.

"She's in an hypnotic trance now," Mesmera stated, her voice suddenly changing into Empra's.

Surprised, Ryan looked up and saw Empra standing before him instead of Mesmera.

"Empra Levi!" Ryan exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Does it matter?" Empra said, smiling warmly. "And I thought I told you to call me Empra from now on, silly."

"Right, but that doesn't answer my question."

Instead of answering, Empra crawled up onto the desk and pressed her enormous breasts up to Ryan's face.

"You want these, don't you?" Empra said as she rubbed her breasts in a playful manner.

Ryan was briefly distracted by them, but then he shook his head. "Why are you acting like this? I'm not attracted to you in 'that' way."

"But I am." Empra then hugged Ryan and pressed him against her breasts.

Trying to get his face out, he looked up and saw not Empra's face but Mesmera's. Only this time, her mouth had opened up revealing four toothed stalks that were reaching towards his face. As Ryan backed away, he heard the automatic door open behind him and looked back. In the doorway stood Marie, who had a surprised look on her face.

"Marie!" Ryan cried. "Get out of here!"

"No way!" Marie answered, and put up her fists. "You'd better have a good explanation, Mesmera, or I'm going to assume you were planning to eat Ryan."

Instead of answering, Mesmera made a guttural noise and lunged at Ryan. One of her skin flaps hit Peeps, who fell sideways out of her chair, and flinched in pain. Looking up in surprise, Peeps saw Ryan struggling against Mesmera on the floor as the toothed stalks cut his hands while Marie attempted to pull Mesmera off. Just then, the purple-haired Warper girl that Ryan encountered near Mountain Island suddenly appeared in the room only she had pale-blue human legs this time instead of tentacles. She raised one of her spiked arms and used the blade-like spike to decapitate Mesmera's head in one swipe. As everyone was awestruck by this, Rea appeared in the doorway of the therapy room.

"What's going on here?" Rea demanded angrily, glaring at the Warper girl. "And _who _are you?"

"_I am Warper 2311441,_" said the Warper girl in an electronic female voice. "_The subject formally known as Mesmera Fish was infected, so she had to be terminated._"

"Okay, but that doesn't explain the rest of this scenario," Rea responded as she glared down at Ryan. "Though I'm guessing you were somehow responsible for this."

"You're wrong," Peeps abruptly spoke, causing Rea to glare at her. In response, she flinched and curled up.

"Don't pick on her, Rea," Ryan insisted. "She came in here because of me."

While Ryan went on to explain everything from the fight with the Human Protection Club members to being attacked by Mesmera, the Warper girl walked around and carefully stared at everyone in the room claiming that she was checking to make sure they weren't 'infected' too.

"_Since none of the other subjects in this room show any signs of infection, I shall take Mesmera's body to be disposed accordingly,_" the Warper girl said after Ryan finished talking. "_But I would visit the medical facility and do self-checkups just to make sure you're not infected._"

"Infected with what?" Marie asked.

"_That is confidential information,_" replied the Warper girl.

Then after the Warper girl picked up Mesmera's decapitated head and headless body, she disappeared in a bright flash of light.

"Do you know what that thing was talking about?" Marie said as she gave Rea a suspicious-looking glance.

Looking offended, Rea snapped, "No, human! I'm just as confused as you are, and I'm going to ask Empra about it right now."

As Rea stomped out of the room, Ryan walked over to Peeps who was still curled up.

"It's okay," Ryan claimed. "Rea's gone, and I'm still here."

Looking up at Ryan, Peeps seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I got so scared…when that boy hit you. Then when you left, I thought it best to stay away in case boy came back. But Mesmera called me to office, and rest is…blank?"

"Yeah, that's how you'd use that word," Ryan affirmed. "Mesmera told me a lot of things, though I didn't believe them, then she told me you were in a trance before Empra showed up."

"That wasn't Empra," Marie clarified. "It was Mesmera using her hypnotic power to cast an illusion to make you think Empra was standing there before closing in for the kill. But what I don't understand is why she tried to eat you, and what that Warper thing meant by 'infected.'"

To be continued…


	10. Data Entry 10: A Warper Called Wanda

Data Entry 10: A Warper Called Wanda

As per the Warper girl's instructions, Ryan Marie and Peeps visited the medical facility where they performed self-checkups to make sure they weren't 'infected'. Fortunately, they were not though Ryan's bleeding hands had to be wrapped in bandages. But what surprised Ryan more was that the following day in Homeroom, Ava Quinn had several announcements to make.

"Due to a recent incident, the Human Protection Club will be disbanded for inappropriate behavior and disrespect towards our fellow Subnauticans," Ava began. "The school counselor Mesmera Fish will no longer be working at this school after she displayed unusual aggression and attempted to kill several students. Principal Empra would also like to remind students that Mountain Island is off-limits for the time being, though we cannot disclose the reason at this time until the situation there is dealt with. On a lighter note, we have a new transfer student who will be joining us as a fellow school monitor besides Rea Levi."

From the door entered the Warper girl, who was still wearing the same purple robe only her spikes were replaced by blue human hands and she was still barefooted.

"She is a member of the Warper species that protect the Sea Emperors and Precursor research facilities," Ava explained. "Thus, please give her a warm welcome."

"_Greetings, fellow subjects,_" the Warper girl said as she bowed slightly. "_I am Warper 2311441._"

"Or Wanda Warper, for short, since the numbers correlate to those letters," Ava added. "Why don't you take the seat that was occupied by Stalk Barracuda for now, until we can get a proper seating arranged?"

"_Very well,_" the Warper girl dubbed Wanda responded and went to the Stalk's desk which was behind Ryan's.

After Homeroom was over, Ryan was approached by Rabb Ray.

"Hey, Fish Lover," Rabb joked. "It's 'Friday,' and you know what that means?"

"Um, what?" Ryan drew a blank.

"We agreed to go to the shopping center on Floating Island to get more clothes for you once the weekend started, remember?" Rabb reminded. "I'm sure you're tired of wearing my duds for an entire week, even if the automatic cleaners keep them fresh."

"Oh, yeah," Ryan admitted. "Between getting attacked by a Stalker, human bullies, and almost killed by a Mesmer therapist, that was the last thing on my mind."

"No problem," replied Rabb. "And sorry for calling you a 'fish lover'. It's apparently become a popular nickname for you among the human students."

"I can't imagine why," Ryan sighed.

"Well, if you're going to Floating Island, can we come too?" Alice butted in, while Peeps nervously stood beside her.

"_Mind if I join, fellow subjects?_" Wanda Warper interjected.

"Is there a particular reason?" Rabb asked.

Wanda stared at Ryan. "_Apart from monitoring the school, Empra Levi gave me private instructions to keep an eye on Subject Ryan in case he decides to wander to Mountain Island against her orders._"

"Do I have a say in this?" Ryan said.

"_No,_" Wanda said bluntly.

"If that's the case, maybe we can get clothes for you too, Wanda," Alice offered. "Unless you plan to walk around barefoot in that robe for the rest of the semester."

"_My personal appearance is irrelevant to my functions,_" Wanda argued. "_But if Subject Ryan is leaving campus, then I have no choice but to accompany him and thus shall indulge in your search of colorful cloth that is used for wearing purposes._"

"Then I'm going as well," Rea stated, startling everyone including Peeps who gasped. "While Empra may have refused to answer my questions regarding this 'infection,' I figure you know the same answers she does. Plus, I want to prove that I'm better at keeping an eye on obvious troublemakers like Ryan and Rabb because I was school monitor first!"

"_If you recall, Subject Rea, the agreement was to have you patrol the outside of the _Aurora _while I was put in charge of the interior,_" Wanda responded calmly. "_Therefore, the individual students are my responsibility._"

"No, the students are my responsibility as well," Rea argued. "After all, I was the one who saved Ryan from Stalk and San who were attacking him outside the school."

###

So once classes were done for the day, Ryan was accompanied by Rabb Alice Peeps Wanda and Rea as they boarded the next Reefback that swam by the Kelp Forest. Unlike the wild ones Ryan saw before, this one had a dome made of glass and metal on its top which kept the water and barnacles out with rows of metal seats inside it. Marie happened to be boarding the same Reefback as well, and decided to follow Ryan's group.

"To be honest, I'm hoping to get answers out of the Warper girl," Marie said to Ryan as Floating Island drew closer with the Reefback swimming along the ocean's surface.

"What a coincidence, human, because I want the same thing," Rea declared. "Now since I made my intentions clear to the Warper first, I get to ask her."

"Not necessarily," Marie claimed. "Since we were both present when she took care of Mesmera, we're entitled to the same answers."

Gritting her sharp teeth, Rea responded. "Okay, then I propose a wager: whoever swims around the circumference of Floating Island the fastest gets to ask the Warper whatever questions she wants while the loser has to swim all the way back to Subnautica High without a Reefback."

"Fine, but I am one of the best human swimmers in the school," Marie warned.

"But no human can out-swim a Subnautican, and that's a fact!"

"Actually—

While Rea and Marie went into a long debate about which Subnauticans were the fastest swimmers, Ryan glanced at Wanda who seemed to be watching them intensely with her four magenta-colored eyes. Alice and Peeps, on the other hand, seemed to be talking amongst themselves as Rabb seemed to be looking astray so Ryan approached him.

"Getting tired of being at the center of attention?" Rabb said sarcastically.

"I wouldn't put it like that, but yeah," Ryan admitted. "So while I'm here, I might as well tell you what the Caste System is and how it's similar to Subnautica's Food Chain."

To be continued…


End file.
